Preface:  As the burrowing owl activities continue behind the scenes, I thought I’d lighten the mood just a little and share what nature does right as opposed to what we are doing wrong.  More Antioch burrowing owl information to come.

Watching raptors never gets old.  And for 9 years it has been a ‘who can spot the hawk?’ game as we cross the bridge that separates the far reaches of the east S.F. Bay Area from the rest of my world.  It is a trek that we happen to find ourselves on somewhat frequently as we attempt to satisfy family get-together obligations and trips to wildlife preserves for instance.  It is a corridor of farmland and pastures that is intertwined with the delta system and divided by thousands of fence posts sufficiently deteriorated to complement the rustic scene. 

There are a few places to park and escape the confines of a vehicle, numerous areas to stop that perhaps straddle legal code, miles and miles of mostly empty roadway conducive to middle of the street pauses, and plenty of opportunities to miss a great photograph or capture a winning shot.  It is never a dull trip.

Although the birding is quite varied, the most prominent feature of this secret landscape are the raptors.  Balancing on a leaning fence post, observing from telephone poles, sitting idle on the ground, and posing on the limb of a tree are all common scenarios whether the sun is shining or the fog is masking long distance visibility.

So enjoy a few of the many raptors we encountered on our last drive, see if you can identify them, and thanks for all the recent support with my struggle to protect burrowing owls.

I missed the Wordless Wednesday boat yesterday as I was enveloped in the details of a burrowing owl relocation plan that I recently received from the city.  So here’s the photo and enough words already…

If you have ever driven by a landfill it becomes quite apparent that it is not a biological wasteland.  As tractors move an endless supply of debris about the land, the skies are littered with flocks of birds capitalizing on the smorgasbord of human consumption.  It is disturbing to see wildlife integrate a daily trip to the dump as a means of survival, but the landscape ultimately undergoes a transformation as garbage is covered by earth and grasses.  A seemingly semi-pristine environment now appears on the horizon with the exception of methane burners emerging from the treeless area and representing the only evidence of meddling.

As the flock of gulls migrate with the bulldozers, a host of other species move in to fill the niche.  Not surprisingly, the influx of rodents drives an increase in raptors that utilize the tall methane burners as perches for spotting prey.  A topic that I had not been aware of prior to a recent AP article on May 24, 2009, these landfill methane burners intermittently ignite and are scorching and killing perched hawks and owls.

“The methane burners have an igniter which causes a sudden flame flare that can scorch or even kill anything perched on top, flying over, or located inside the stack.”

“Typically, closed landfills are low traffic areas, so only a small percentage of burned raptors are rescued.  It is believed that most injured raptors die due to starvation or predation after burn injuries have been sustained.”

Wildlife Rehabilitation Bulletin, Raptor Burns from landfill Methane Burners, Gary Siftar, 2008

A number of remediation ideas are being discussed by wildlife rehabilitators and conservationists to prevent perching, but what I found interesting, as pointed out by the AP, is that the New York State Association for Solid Waste Management and the Federation of New York Solid Waste Associations have joined forces with the National Audubon Society to help curb the problem.  It is definitely a positive note that I hope is not just limited to lip service but becomes an adopted practice at landfills nationwide.

Links of interest:

The Birdchaser – More Methane Burned Hawks in Oklahoma

Audubon Birdscapes – Making Landfill Methane Burners Safe for Raptors

AP, May 24, 2009 – Landfill methane towers scorch perched hawks